Unravelling
by uninformed
Summary: Their carefully built relationship is slowly unravelling. Second Place in the Kuro/Fai LJ Comm 2007 Easter Challenge. Set during the time in Yamano; Kuro/Fai


1.

He starts talking at you as soon as you wake up and, upon shaking off your grogginess, you realize that you truly can't understand the words he's stringing together. You wait until he finishes his rant and glares at you expecting a response, then smile and shrug and say simply, "Mokona's too far away," though you know he won't understand anything beyond Mokona's name.

His glare darkens and he spits what are likely curses against your small, white and absent companion. And possibly the Space Time Witch. And probably yourself, as well.

2.

They ride towards you on giant animals and you hold your breath and Kurogane's hand moves to his sword. They shout out across the field and Kurogane's hand slips in surprise before he calls back to them. Time seems to stand still before they lower their weapons and you let your breath back out. Luck appears to be on your side, for once.

3.

You don't take well to the silence, and soon after you're comfortably settled in the castle you try to convey that you want him to teach you to speak, since his language seems to be common here. He doesn't seem to get it, and you can think of no way to make him understand without the use of speech.

When he finally does start to teach you, it's more to relieve his own frustration than because you asked.

4.

Kurogane insists you don't leave your shared room with exaggerated pointing and growled words you don't understand, but suspect are threats. So you draw silly pictures in your large amounts of spare time, using whatever paper you can find around the room you've been confined to and stringing them up on the walls when you're finished. He yells when he returns and you laugh and he chases you until the guards come to investigate the ruckus.

You aren't sure what is said, but you know it isn't good, and after that, the two of you call a sort of truce. You try not to make a nuisance of yourself and he tries not to lose his temper. You both slip up, at times, but for the most part it works surprisingly well.

5.

Kurogane returns, shirtsleeve torn and a slight graze on his arm. He drops a roll of gauze and jar of ointment on the floor in front of you and you understand without him gesturing wildly and getting frustrated: he doesn't trust the medics here. He doesn't trust you either, but you suppose he considers you better than them.

Once his injury's taken care of, you refuse to relinquish his shirt, instead producing a spool of thread and small collection of needles that you'd "acquired" from one of the castle's servants. The fabric's black and what blood has seeped into it is hardly noticeable. You try to ignore his eyes on you as you set to work stringing the hole back together.

6.

This country is at war and Kurogane has been recruited to help fight, or so he explains when you can speak enough to hold something like a conversation. You ask if you can help and he snorts with disdain. You suspect he's remembering the virtual world of Outo where you tried to help fight, but never won.

7.

The first two nights Kurogane doesn't return, you worry, but think little of it. He's a full-grown man and can handle himself much better than you can in this world. The third night you can't sleep and that morning you set off in search of him.

The first servant you question about his whereabouts turns white, and leads you through a maze of hallways to a room that reeks of medicine and you curse yourself for not inquiring about him earlier. His injury is terrible, but the medics assure you he'll be fine, and your own inspection proves their judgment to be right.

You refuse to leave his bedside all the same.

8.

Only four days after Kurogane is injured, they approach you. You don't understand all of it, but it seems they expect you to fight in Kurogane's absence. You panic for a moment, thinking they can sense your magic, but instead, to your surprise, they offer you a sword.

You refuse the weapon outright and unstring a roll of parchment, drawing a picture because you don't know the words to describe what you can do on a battlefield.

9.

It's longer than you're used to, and you turn the bow in your hands with distaste. The small man who presented it to you smiles pleasantly and points across the field to the large animals many of the warriors ride upon. It takes a moment, but you catch on: the bow is so long to allow for shooting from the backs of these animals. It will take a little getting used to, but you're certain you can manage it quickly. You need to earn your keep and his, after all.

10.

Nearly a week passes from the first day you attend a battle on the moon to the day Kurogane regains consciousness. You go to him as soon as you return and are very nearly unsurprised to find him half out of bed and yelling at the poor attendant who had been assigned to him. You chide him for being difficult as soon as he notices you, and he glares and mutters something you don't quite understand, but returns to bed without putting up much of a fight.

The attendant is staring at you like you just tamed some sort of monster, but you don't pay him much mind as you usurp the care of his charge.

11.

The snap of the string; the whine of the arrow as it lets loose; the distant, duller sound of the arrow meeting its target. A part of you had missed this and weeks later, when Kurogane is well again and you don't need to participate in the battles anymore, you find yourself reluctant to give it up all the same.

Kurogane only shrugs and tells you to do what you want.

12.

Language lessons change from the mundane to battle speech. He teaches you various commands and warnings as well as the names for the different kinds of weapons and armour. You learn quickly, having already picked most of it up in his absence.

And when you're done for the night, he looks like he wants to say something more. You aren't sure if he doesn't because you wouldn't understand the words or because it's that difficult for him to thank you.

13.

Your bowstring breaks during battle and the dread and terror of being caught weaponless don't even have time to sink in before he's between you and them. His sword flashes and he shouts at you angrily. You're backing away to the edges of the fray even before your brain translates his command to get out of the way.

When it's over and you're back in Yamano, you head straight to your quarters, only detouring to acquire a new string of hemp for your bow. He arrives shortly after, still angry. He shouts so loudly you're convinced the guards will come again, so you reach out and grab his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

He does go silent then, and unexpectedly threads the fingers of one hand through your hair and pulls you closer with the fingers of the other spread between your shoulder blades. You backpedal, stumbling away from the unexpected closeness and meeting his surprised expression with one of your own.

14.

You realize that the careful relationship you've built with Kurogane is unraveling. At some unknown point you abandoned your post as "annoying mage" to take up a position you haven't yet identified. He keeps looking at you like you're an especially intricate puzzle and you don't appreciate the change in rôle. You much preferred when you weren't worth his time or effort.

Things are getting too comfortable. Yamano is too relaxed; Kurogane is too familiar, too close. The situation is dangerous and you're beginning to suffocate with the need to get out.

15.

When the children arrive, you're pleased to be able to speak freely again, though you keep up appearances with the inhabitants of the castle. In private, you resume taunting and teasing Kurogane like you had before you arrived in this country.

You're torn between pushing him away and pulling him closer, both at ease with and unsettled by his presence. Either way, stringing him along makes you feel better. Even with his eyes on you and burning through you and trying to understand you, the senseless chatter lets you pretend you're in control.


End file.
